Vehicle assembly-stand.



H. B. OOFPIN.

VEHICLE ASSEMBLY STAND.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 13, 1908.

Patented Aug. 29, 1911.

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APPLIOATION FILED APR 13, 1908 Patented Aug. 29, 1911.

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W717) esses HOWARD E. COIEFIN, 01 DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

VEHICLE lLSSEMBIfY-STAND.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 29, 1911.

Application filed April 13, 1908. Serial No. 128,756.

To all whom it may comer n:

do it known that l, :l lowann l). (lorriN, a citizen of the United titates ol. ..\1nerica, residing; at Detroit, in the county of W'ayne and tiltale o't' l iichigga have invented certain new and useful .l mpro\emenls in Vehicle Assembly-titands, of which the following is a s n'cilication, rcjlference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

it is the object of the invention to economize lloor space and to othei'wise :lacilitale the work off assembling motor vehicles, and to this end the invention consists in the constructitm as hereinafter set forth.

in the drawings d igrure l is plan view of the assen'ibling floor; Fig. 2 is a perspective view at one ol' the assembling stands with the frame of a vehicle supported thereon ind' ated, in dotted lines; lliggs. 3 and -ilare respectively a side elevation and end elevation ot the vertically adjustable standards constituting the stand; l irr. 5 is a cross section illustratiiur a vehicle :trame clmnped to the stand for riveting; and Fig. 6 is a plan view of one of the stands. showing the chassis in dotted lines as mounted thereon.

lit usual in a. embling the parts ot a motor vehicle to first support the side sills in reverse position upon a pair o'l horses and then to attach. to these sills the cross bars of the 'lil'lllllt). the springs. axles, and other parts of the chassis. it is then neccssary to lift the assembled structure and. rc verse it before :l'urther work thereon may be peritorn'ied. This method o'l procedure requires suilicient lloor space for each assembly to permit of removing the same from the horses and reversing. and furthermore as there is nothing; to deline or limit the space occupied by each individual assembly the various workmen on the floor are continually interfering with each other.

With my improvement the assembly floor is unobstructed with horses or other like supports. The position to be occupied by each individual, assembly is exactly predetermined and limited and all the parts assembled are arranged from the start in their normal upright position so that when the chassis is completed no reversal is necessary.

A. further feature 01 the invention is that assembly stands are provided which are adapted to both support and position the various parts of the assembly in proper relation to each other. Still further these stands are so constructed that they may be lowered to support the chassis upon its wheels and permit it to be rolled away thereon.

.i tnother advantage is that the stands are termed merely ot a plurality oi upright posts having work sup 'iortinrg arms thereon, and detachable (heaping sockets in the floor. Thus at any time the lloor or any portion lhereol may be quickly cleared by disengaging these posts 'lrom the sockets.

As illustrated. is the a sembly lloor upon which a series of assembly stands ii l5, etc, are arranged, the individual stands being arranged in predetermined relation to each other. lCaeh o'l. these stands prelerably comprises 'lour independent posts (I, and the": are so positioned as to be adjacent to the intersection ol the planes of the side sills and the axles. liach post is provided with one or more supper-tine; arms preterably an arm l) extending laterally from the upper end oi? the post and an arm it projecting in a plan* at right angles to that of the arm l) and l'rom a lower point in the post. The arms l) torm the supports For the sills oi the 'l'ramc and the arms i the supports tor the axles, and these are so rela lively positiomed that the springs or other (amnectinrr members between the said parts may be attached thereto. The height ()If the supportimv; arms is such that when the wheels are plared on the axles they will slightly clear the lloor.

Each of the posts C is positioned by engagement with a socket member ll preterably a casing secured to the lloor. The post slidably engages this socket, but is held in normal position by suitable locking, means such as the pin G which passes through registering apertures in the socket and post and holds the latter both from vertical and retary movement. \Vhen, however, the pin G is withdrawn the post C may be lowered, and this will. drop the arn'ls l) and E sulliciently to disengage them from the parts of the frame and permit the chassis to be supported upon its own wheels. I

With the construction as thus far descrilmd in use the posts C oi. the various stands are first raised and locked in position by their pins G. The various pa rts are then assembled upon the stand preferably by first engaging the axles with the arms 1*] and placing the sills in engagement with the arms I), and then positioning and connecting the other parts of the frame. \Vhen the assembly is complete the pins G are withdrawn, the posts C lowered and the chassis is run away upon its own wheels. The stand B may also be employed for clamping the frame to permit of riveting the parts thereof. For this purpose the pair of posts arranged in the same transverse plane are cross connected by a strut member H which is adjustable in length, as by forming it in two sections connected by a central turn-' buckle l. The arms D are provided with hooked jaw members J for engaging one flange of the side sills and the arrangement is such that by adjusting the turnbuckle I the opposite post C may be spread apart causing the aws J to tight-1y clamp the sills of the frame. This will give suflicient rigidity to the structure to permit of the riveting operation and after the completion of the work an adjustment of the turnbuckle will release the clamp and permit the frame to be disengaged,

l Vhat I claim as my invention is:

1. An assembly stand comprising a pair of posts rigidly secured at their lower ends in predetermined relation, bearings at the upper ends of said posts for engaging and supporting the members of the structure, a cross strut between said posts intermediate their ends, and means for adjusting the length of said strut to slightly flex said posts and clamp the work.

2. An assembly stand comprising a pair of posts fixedly positioned at their lower ends, hooked bearings on said posts for supporting the opposite sides of the frame to be assembled and having hooks for engaging said sides, and a cross connecting strut having a turnbuckle therein for relatively moving said posts to cause said hooked bearings to clamp the frame.

8. A vehicle assembling support comprising means for supporting the axles and the main elements of the frame separately and in normal upright predetermined relation and relative position, and means for lowering the support for disengagement from the assembled structure and to rest the latter upon its wheels to permit of removal thereon.

4. A vehicle assembling support comprising a vertically extending member, arms projecting laterally from said member in transverse planes and adapted for respectively supporting an axle and a frame member in normal relation and for engaging the same adjacent to the intersection of their vertical planes.

5. A vehicle assembling support comprising means for independently supporting the main elements of the frame and the axles in normal upright relation and in a position where the wheels will clear the floor, said means consisting of a plurality of vertically adjustable posts positioned to be adjacent to the intersections of the vertical planes of the axles and side sills of the frame, and arms projecting laterally from said posts in transverse planes.

6. A vehicle assembling support comprising means for independently supporting the main elements of the frame and the axles in normal upright relation and in a position where the wheels will clear the floor, said means consisting of a plurality of vertically adjustable posts positioned to be adjacent to the intersections of the vertical planes of the axles and side sills of the frame, and arms projecting from said posts for engaging said sills and axles.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

HOlVARD E. COFFIN.

Witnesses:

NELLIE KINsELLA, JAMES P. BARRY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

